Councillor Thato Mathunyane for the Middelburg and Hendrina Residents Front:

The Middelburg and Hendrina Residents Front is announcing that a judgment has been reached in the High Court of Mpumalanga, held at the Local Seat in Middelburg in the interpleaders under case numbers 1412/2022 and 1603/2022.

We want to express our gratitude to the court for its diligent consideration of the matters.

After careful consideration, the MHRF has decided to exercise our right to appeal the judgment.
We believe there are substantial legal grounds to pursue a further review of the interpleaders.

The appeal process is a critical avenue to ensure all facts are before court in the main action and applications.

The ruling from court is that a fourth set of affidavits by us are not permitted as same would be prejudicial towards the opposing parties and therefore constitutes an irregular step.

We have been advised that the opposing party did not plead any prejudice and subsequently we seek to review the decision to ensure that the court is placed with all the relevant facts to make a decision.

The other aspect we wish to take on review is the ruling that the MHRF did not have a valid authorisation to institute legal proceedings.
It is our view that there was a valid resolution in place.

Notwithstanding the aforesaid, from the judgment same can and will be rectified to ensure compliance with the court’s requirements.

We will present a compelling case, backed by comprehensive legal arguments and precedents, demonstrating why we believe a different interpretation of the law is warranted.
We have full confidence in the robustness of the South African legal system and trust the Appeal Court will ensure that justice is served.

The second applicant, Mr Mathunyane, was granted a cost order against Mr Mokoena and it was ruled that Mr Mathunyane may pursue his action against the respondents.

The MHRF remains committed to upholding the principles of justice and ensuring that every avenue is explored in the pursuit of a fair resolution. Our focus is to finalise the main actions and act in the best interest of our organisation.

We further wish to reserve our right to release a comprehensive statement regarding the cases at hand at finalisation of the litigation as certain pertinent information, crucial to our position, will be disclosed upon the finalisation of the litigation.

Mr Ben Mokoena, former MHRF member and councillor:

Following the court judgement made by Judge Lerato Bam on Monday, 18 September, Mr Thato Mathunyane has, through a media statement, threatened to sue my person for defamation in the High Court. I wish to make the public aware that this is an empty threat aimed at saving face by Mr Mathunyane in light of the humiliating defeat he suffered in court.

The so-called defamation acts were supposedly committed early last year already and to date he has done nothing about them despite the fact that he has been threatening to do so.

Fact of the matter is that Thato Mathunyane and his wife Finky Sonia Ngomane deceived an important government body – the IEC, by claiming that she (Finky Sonia Ngomane) is the Treasurer of the MHRF.

They also claimed that this letter, which they jointly concocted in the privacy of their home, was written by me. This is plain fraud and the two must be made to account for it.

I challenge Mr Mathunyane and his wife to bring on the action.

The public of Middelburg is hereby also being informed that I am pursuing the fraud charges I laid against them on the above issues and I await a decision from the Mpumalanga Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in this regard. I am positive that the state will prosecute going forward.